Laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting

ABSTRACT

A laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting has a frame for supporting an air plenum and a lower housing. The air plenum receives conditioned air from a source of conditioned air. The lower housing is attached to the bottom of the plenum. An aperture plate damper installed below the top plenum regulates the flow of air from the plenum through the laminar flow diffuser. A clear or translucent the perforated diffuser face forms the outlet from the lower housing to the room below. LED strips are positioned around the inside periphery of the lower housing. A perforated reflector panel is position below the aperture plate damper and above the LED strips to spread the light from the LED strips across the perforated diffuser face.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application claims priority from provisional Patent Application No. 62/335,251, filed on May 12, 2016, and is a continuation in part of non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 16/286,684, filed Feb. 27, 2019, which is a continuation of non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/594,114, filed May 12, 2017, both of which are relied upon and incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to air diffusers and more particularly to a laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Laminar flow diffusers are located in the ceiling of a room immediately above a work area and deliver a controlled downward flow of conditioned supply air with minimal entrainment of residual room air. The low entrainment of residual room air results from the low initial face velocity of the air delivered by the laminar flow diffuser. The uniform low velocity downward projection of supply air through a diffuser face, combined with low-level exhaust or return air inlets, is ideal for industrial clean rooms or hospital operating rooms. The boundary layer of the air mass in the room is the only place where any appreciable entrainment of residual room air may occur. With the boundary layer, remote from the work area, the low velocity, controlled air mass delivered from the laminar flow diffuser effectively isolates the work area from any effects or contaminants of the residual room air.

Laminar flow diffusers typically have a full flow butterfly style dampers to control the amount of air delivered downwardly through the diffuser face to the room below. The laminar flow diffusers are typically configured and sized for either ceiling surface mount or for ceiling T-bar installation.

Because of the low flow of the laminar flow diffusers, a substantial portion of the ceiling may be occupied by the laminar flow diffusers. Such a construction creates a possible trade-off between the ceiling area allocated to the laminar flow diffusers and the ceiling area allocated to lighting fixtures. Such a trade-off becomes particularly acute in work areas that require a high degree of illumination as well as a low degree of contaminant entrainment, such as hospital operating rooms or industrial clean rooms.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to address the issue of limited ceiling space for both laminar flow diffusers and lighting fixtures, the present invention is a laminar flow diffuser with integrated light emitting diodes (LED). The laminar flow diffuser of the present invention includes a frame that supports an enclosed air plenum and a lower housing. The air plenum receives conditioned air from a source of conditioned air and includes a top panel, side panels, end panels, and an open bottom. The lower housing, comprising housing side panels and housing end panels, is attached to the bottom of the plenum. An aperture plate damper is installed below the air plenum to control air flow through the diffuser. A clear or translucent engineered, fire rated polymer perforated diffuser face forms the outlet from the lower housing to the room below. The perforated diffuser face is approximately ⅛ inch in thickness.

The LED lighting comprises integrated LED lighting strips that are mounted on the inside of the lower housing sides and lower housing ends and above the perforated diffuser face. The LED lighting is designed such that an equivalent amount of light is provided from the laminar flow diffuser, as would have been provided by separate lights and diffusers.

In a first embodiment, a perforated acrylic light guide is used to equalize the light emitted through the perforated diffuser face of the laminar flow diffuser. The light guide comprises a ⅜ inch clear acrylic sheet with a reflective metal sheet mounted on top of the light guide polymer sheet. The reflective metal sheet reflects the light transmitted through the light guide downward toward the perforated diffuser face and prevents light from being emitted inefficiently from the top of the light guide. The light guide is perforated to allow for necessary air flow to pass through the light guide, through the perforated diffuser face, and into the room below. The light guide is mounted adjacent to the LED strips and in the same plane as the LED strips. The light produced by the LED strips passes within the clear acrylic sheet of the light guide, and the light guide equalizes the light within the laminar flow diffuser before the light is emitted from the perforated diffuser face of the laminar flow diffuser. The light guide is positioned directly above, spaced from, and parallel to the diffuse face in order to transfer the maximum amount of light from the LED strips to the translucent perforated diffuser face and to provide a high quality, equalized, and even light to be emitted from the perforated diffuser face of the laminar flow diffuser.

The invention includes individual laminar flow diffusers and larger integrated assemblies of individual laminar flow diffusers. The individual laminar flow diffusers generally are dimensioned to fit the standard T-bar ceiling installations, having nominal dimensions of 24 inches×24 inches or 24 inches×48 inches.

In the larger integrated assemblies of individual laminar flow diffusers, the conditioned air supplied from a source of conditioned air is shared amongst the several laminar flow diffusers that are either individually connected to air ducts or interconnected with a common air plenum. The air flow between the plenums for the individual laminar flow diffusers is internally equalized due to the back pressure created by the aperture plate damper within each laminar flow diffuser. Balancing the air flow from each laminar flow diffuser is accomplished with the face adjustable aperture plates installed in each laminar flow diffuser.

As a result of the integrated lighting in the laminar flow diffuser, the lighting and the air distribution by the laminar flow diffusers are integrated into the same ceiling space thereby saving ceiling space in operating rooms and clean rooms.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, a perforated reflector panel replaces the light guide. The perforated reflector panel is mounted in the lower housing above the peripherally mounted LED lighting strips in order to reflect the light created by the LED lighting strips toward the perforated diffuser face. The perforated reflector panel includes angled sections that reflect the light originating from the peripheral LED lighting strips toward the center of the of the diffuser face. An aperture damper is mounted above the perforated reflector panel.

Further objects, features and advantages will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of a first embodiment of an individual laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the first embodiment of the individual laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3A is an end elevation section view of the first embodiment of the individual laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting as seen along line 3A-3A in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3B is an enlarged portion of the end elevation section view of FIG. 3A of the first embodiment of the individual laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a side perspective view of the first embodiment of the individual laminar flow diffuser with the perforated face plate removed to expose the light guide in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a bottom plan view of the first embodiment of the individual laminar flow diffuser with the perforated face plate removed to expose the light guide in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4C is a bottom perspective view of the first embodiment of the light guide and aperture plate damper in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4D is an enlarged edge view of the first embodiment of the light guide and aperture plate damper in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4E is an enlarged bottom plan view of the first embodiment of the individual laminar flow diffuser with the perforated face plate removed to expose the light guide and aperture plate damper in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an integrated assembly of eight individual laminar flow diffusers with integrated lighting in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view the integrated assembly of eight individual laminar flow diffusers with integrated lighting in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a room side perspective view of a second embodiment of a laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exploded room side perspective view of the second embodiment of the laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a room side perspective view of the second embodiment of the laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting and with the diffuser face removed to reveal internal detail in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an exploded room side perspective view of the second embodiment of the laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting and with the diffuser face removed to reveal internal detail in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an exploded room side perspective view of the perforated reflector panel and the aperture plate damper in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a room side plan view (with a cutaway) of the second embodiment of the laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 13A is side elevation section view of the second embodiment of the laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting in accordance with the present invention as seen along line 13A-13A of FIG. 12.

FIG. 13B is an end elevation section view of the second embodiment of the laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting in accordance with the present invention as seen along line 13B-13B of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a room side perspective view of a third embodiment of a perforated reflector panel of the laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a room side perspective view of fourth embodiment of a perforated reflector panel of a third embodiment of a laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a room side perspective view of the perforated reflector panel of the second embodiment of a laminar flow diffuser with integrated lighting in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 1, 2, 3A-3B, and 4A-4E illustrate a first embodiment of an individual laminar flow diffuser 10 of the present invention. The laminar flow diffuser 10 includes a frame 12 that supports a plenum 16 and a lower housing 34. In other embodiments, the plenum 16 and the lower housing 34 may be a single structure divided into two sections. Such laminar flow diffusers 10 generally are dimensioned to fit the standard T-bar ceiling installations and have nominal dimensions of 24 inches×24 inches or 24 inches×48 inches. The laminar flow diffuser 10 is mounted in a T-bar ceiling of an occupied space by means of mounting hooks 14 attached to the frame 12.

The plenum 16 includes side panels 18, end panels 20, a top panel 22, and an open bottom. A conditioned air inlet 26 is formed in either one of the end panels 20 or in the top panel 22. A HEPA filter (not shown) may be placed in the conditioned air inlet 26 to assure clean air is delivered to the occupied room below the laminar flow diffuser 10. The lower housing 34 is attached to the open bottom of the plenum 16. In one embodiment the lower housing 34 has a peripheral panel comprising housing side panels 35 and housing end panels 36. The peripheral panel, however, may in other embodiments be a continuous panel or have additional panels. The plenum 16 and the lower housing 34 are separated from each other by an aperture plate damper 38 that regulates the flow of air from the plenum 16 into the lower housing 34.

A clear or translucent engineered fire rated polymer perforated diffuser face 28 is connected to the bottom of the lower housing 34. The polymer perforated diffuser 28 face is made of ⅛″ thick polycarbonate and perforated with openings 30 to produce 13% to 23% free (open) area. The perforated diffuser face 28 allows conditioned air to flow freely into the room below with minimal pressure drop and allows for adequate flow equalization across the perforated face 28 thereby producing ideal laminar air flow characteristics in the room below. The translucent perforated diffuser face 28 is attached to the bottom of the frame 12 by means of quick release fasteners or threaded bolts 40 so that the perforated diffuser face 28 can be removed for maintenance and cleaning. While the illustrated diffuser has a flat rectangular perforated diffuser face 28, the diffuser of the present invention is not limited to such a flat rectangular perforated diffuser face and may incorporate other embodiments of diffuser outlets well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

A series of LED lighting strips 32 are attached to the inside of the housing side panels 35 and housing end panels 36 of the lower housing 34 by means of LED light strip mounts 33 (FIG. 3B). The LED lighting strips 32 shine through the clear or translucent perforated diffuser face 28 to provide light to the room below.

With reference to FIGS. 3A-3B and 4A-4E, a light guide 42 is used to equalize (spread) the light emitted from the LED lighting strips 32 evenly across the area of the perforated diffuser face 28 of the laminar flow diffuser 10. The light guide 42 comprises a clear acrylic sheet 45 with a reflective layer consisting of a metal sheet 44 mounted on top of the acrylic sheet 45. In other embodiments, the reflective layer may be a reflective coating used in place of the reflective metal sheet 44 to form the reflective layer. The light guide 42 has an edge 47. Particularly, the clear acrylic sheet 45 transmits maximum light along its entire lower surface due to the 92% luminance transmittance rating. The light guide 42 is perforated with light guide openings 43 to allow for 8% to 13% free (open) area to allow air flow to pass through the light guide 42, in combination with the aperture plate damper 38 to provide adequate back pressure for air flow equalization within the common plenum, and to minimize pressure drop. The reflective metal sheet 44 reflects the light transmitted through the acrylic sheet 45 downward toward the perforated diffuser face 28 and prevents light from being emitted inefficiently from the top of the acrylic sheet 45 away from the translucent perforated diffuser face 28.

The light guide 42 is mounted on light guide mountings 49 and is spaced above the perforated diffuser face to define an air space 48. The light guide 42 is mounted with its edges 47 in close proximity to the LED strips 32, in the same plane as the LED strips 32, above the perforated diffuser face 28, and parallel to the perforated diffuser face 28. The light produced by the LED strips 32 passes into the edges 47 of the light guide acrylic sheet 45. The light guide 42 fully equalizes (spreads) the light within the laminar flow diffuser 10 before the light is emitted from the perforated diffuser face 28 of the laminar flow diffuser 10. As shown in FIG. 3B, the light guide 42 is positioned above, and parallel to the perforated diffuse face 28, in order to allow the maximum amount of light transfer from the LED strips 32 to the clear or translucent perforated diffuser face 28 and thereby provide a high quality, equalized and even light to be emitted from the laminar flow diffuser 10. FIGS. 4A-4B show the light guide 42 mounted in the lower housing 34. FIG. 4D shows the edge 47 of the light guide 42, the acrylic sheet 45, the top mounted reflective metal sheet 44, the light guide openings 43, and the aperture plate damper 38 positioned above the reflective sheet 44. FIG. 4E shows the light guide 42 backed by the aperture plate damper 38. As shown in FIG. 4E, the aperture plate damper 38 with openings 41 can slide with respect to the light guide 42 (left to right in FIG. 4E) so that the light guide openings 43 can be constricted by the aperture plate damper 38 to thereby control the flow of conditioned air from the plenum 16 to the perforated diffuser face 28.

FIGS. 5-6 illustrate an integrated assembly of eight individual laminar flow diffusers 10 a-10 h connected together. Such an integrated assembly can provide a large well lighted work area where the amount of entrained residual room air is reduced. Each of the individual laminar flow diffusers 10 a-10 h is supplied with conditioned air from a source of conditioned air through top or side inlets 26 e-26 h (FIGS. 5 and 6). Where conditioned air is supplied to the inlets 26 e-26 h from a single conditioned air source, the need to balance the air flowing through the individual laminar flow diffusers may be required. The air flowing to the plenums for the individual laminar flow diffusers is internally equalized as a result of back pressure created by the light guide 42 and the aperture plate damper 38 within each laminar flow diffuser 10 a-10 h. Balancing the air flow from each laminar flow diffuser 10 a-10 h is accomplished by means of the face adjustable aperture plate dampers 38 installed in each laminar flow diffuser 10 a-10 h. Electrical power is provided to each LED strip through a LED driver located in an electrical enclosure 24 on the top of the air plenum.

FIGS. 7-13B and 16 illustrate a second embodiment of an individual laminar flow diffuser 110 of the present invention. The laminar flow diffuser 110 includes a frame 112 that supports a plenum 116 and a lower housing 134. In other embodiments, the plenum 116 and the lower housing 134 may be a single structure divided into two sections. Such laminar flow diffusers 110 generally are dimensioned to fit the standard T-bar ceiling installations and have nominal dimensions of 24 inches×24 inches or 24 inches×48 inches. The laminar flow diffuser 110 is mounted in a T-bar ceiling of an occupied space by means of mounting hooks 114 attached to the frame 112.

The plenum 116 includes side panels 118, end panels 120, a top panel 122, and an open bottom. A conditioned air inlet 126 is formed in either one of the end panels 120 or in the top panel 122. A HEPA filter (not shown) may be placed in the conditioned air inlet 126 to assure clean air is delivered to the occupied room below the laminar flow diffuser 110. The lower housing 134 is attached to the open bottom of the plenum 116. In one embodiment the lower housing 134 has a peripheral panel comprising housing side panels 135 and housing end panels 136. The peripheral panel, however, may in other embodiments be a continuous panel or have additional panels. The plenum 116 and the lower housing 134 are separated from each other by an aperture plate damper 138 (FIG. 11) that regulates the flow of air from the plenum 116 into the lower housing 134. The aperture plate damper 138 includes a fixed aperture plate 142 with fixed aperture slots 144 and a slidable aperture plate 146 with slidable aperture slots 148. With reference to FIG. 13A, the slidable aperture plate 146 slides left and right below the fixed aperture plate 142 thereby opening the aperture plate damper 138 by aligning the fixed aperture plate slots 144 and the slidable aperture plate slots 148 and closing the aperture plate damper 138 by blocking the fixed aperture plate slots 144 and the slidable aperture plate slots 148. The amount of air passing through the aperture plate damper 138 can thus be regulated by positioning the slidable aperture plate 146 in any position between full open and full closed.

A clear or translucent engineered fire rated polymer perforated diffuser face 128 is connected to the bottom of the lower housing 134. The polymer perforated diffuser 128 face is made of ⅛″ thick polycarbonate and perforated with openings 130 to produce 13% to 23% free (open) area. The perforated diffuser face 128 allows conditioned air to flow freely into the room below with minimal pressure drop and allows for adequate flow equalization across the perforated face 128 thereby producing ideal laminar air flow characteristics in the room below. The translucent perforated diffuser face 128 is attached to the bottom of the frame 112 by means of quick release fasteners or threaded bolts 129 so that the perforated diffuser face 128 can be removed for maintenance and cleaning. While the illustrated diffuser 110 has a flat rectangular perforated diffuser face 128, the diffuser of the present invention is not limited to such a flat rectangular perforated diffuser face and may incorporate other embodiments of diffuser outlets well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

With reference to FIGS. 9, 10, 13A, and 13B, a series of LED lighting strips 132 are attached to the inside of the lower housing side panels 135 and lower housing end panels 136 of the lower housing 134. The LED lighting strips 132 shine through the clear or translucent perforated diffuser face 128 to provide light to the room below.

With reference to FIGS. 8-13B and 16, a perforated reflector panel 150 is mounted below the aperture plate damper 138 and above the LED lighting strips 132. The perforated reflector panel 150 has a reflective lower surface 159 that reflects and equalizes (spreads) the light emitted from the LED lighting strips 132 across the area of the perforated diffuser face 128 of the laminar flow diffuser 110. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8-13B and 16, the perforated reflector panel 150 includes two flat portions 152 and a protruding reflector element 161 comprising two angled portions 154 that meet to form a triangular-shaped ridge 156 extending along the length of the perforated reflector panel 150. The reflective lower surfaces 159 of the two flat portions 152 and the two angle portions 154 reflect and scatter the light from the LED lighting strips 132 across the perforated diffuser face 128. The spread of the light casts a more even light across the area in the occupied space lighted by the laminar flow diffuser 110. The reflective lower surface 159 of the perforated reflector panel 150 has a light reflectance value between 60 and 90 LRV.

The perforated reflector panel 150 has openings 158 for the passage of air from the aperture plate damper 138 to the perforated diffuser face 128. The perforated reflector panel 150 between 13% and 23% free (open) area.

In addition to the perforated reflector panel 150 (FIG. 16), other configurations such as perforated reflector panel 250 (FIG. 15) and perforated reflector panel 350 (FIG. 14), likewise provide light spreading to the perforated diffuser face 128. The perforated reflector panel 250, with openings 258, has flat portions 252 on either side of a protruding reflector element 261 in the form of a half cylinder shaped section 254 extending along the length of the perforated reflector panel 250. The perforated reflector panel 350, with openings 358, has flat portions 352 on either side of a protruding reflector element 361 in the form of a pyramid-shaped section with sides 354 and a vertex 356. The perforated reflector panels 250 and 350 have reflective lower surfaces 259 and 359 respectively. Other protruding shapes may be adopted for the protruding reflector elements, including without limit, a series of triangular ridges, a series of half cylinder shapes, a series of pyramid shapes, a hemisphere shape, and a series of hemisphere shapes.

The reflective lower surfaces 259 and 359 have a light reflectance value between 60 and 90 LRV. The perforated reflector panels 250 and 350 have between 13% and 23% free (open) area.

While this invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that variations and modifications can be affected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described herein and as described in the appended claims. 

We claim:
 1. A diffuser with integrated lighting comprising: a. a frame including: i. an upper air plenum for receiving conditioned air from a source of conditioned air; and ii. a lower housing, having a peripheral panel, connected to the air plenum for receiving conditioned air from the air plenum; b a clear or translucent diffuser face perforated with openings, the diffuser face forming an outlet from the lower housing to an occupied space below the diffuser; c at least one LED lighting strip attached to an inside surface of the peripheral panel and above the clear or translucent diffuser face for directing light through the clear or translucent diffuser face; and d a reflector panel perforated with openings mounted above the LED lighting strips in the lower housing for distributing light from the LED lighting strips evenly across the diffuser face.
 2. The diffuser of claim 1, wherein the reflector panel includes a protruding reflector element.
 3. The diffuser of claim 2, wherein the protruding reflector element is an elongated V shape ridge.
 4. The diffuser of claim 2, wherein the protruding reflector element is in the form of a pyramid shape.
 5. The diffuser of claim 2, wherein the protruding reflector element is in the form of a half cylinder shape.
 6. The diffuser of claim 2, wherein the protruding reflector element is in the form of a hemisphere shape.
 7. The diffuser of claim 1, wherein the reflector panel has a light reflectance value between 60 and 90 LRV.
 8. The diffuser of claim 1, wherein the reflector panel has free area between 13% and 23% free (open) area. 